In U.S. butadiene contracts for November fell on average by 18%

November 01/2011

(ICIS) -- US butadiene (BD) contracts for
November fell on average by 18% in the first single settlement for the US
contract in eight months, market sources said on Monday. The reduction to
$1.15/lb ($2,535/tonne, ?1,800/tonne) marks a return to the way US BD used to
settle, with the four main producers agreeing to match the lowest price
nominated for the month.

The last time BD settled at a single price in the US was in March 2011,
when contracts rose by 5 cents/lb to $1.04/lb FOB (free on board) USG (US Gulf).

In September 2010, a producer did not match nominations from two other
suppliers, ushering in a series of split settlements for US BD
contracts.

The market has since been mostly split between a group of three
producers, which tends to converge to a single price, and a stand-alone fourth
supplier that sets its own contract value. Prior to 2010, there were only two
split BD settlements going back to 1994.